Superbrands, the world's largest independent arbiter of brands, has given the go-ahead to the fourth edition of its project in Bulgaria to cover the period 2012-2013.

The launch coincides with an important anniversary in the history of the international branding institution – its 300th edition. Superbrands is already operating in more than 80 countries, identifying and promoting the most powerful brands and business practices on the market.

This year the independent Superbrands board in Bulgaria will be chaired by Venelina Gocheva, Vice President of the Publisher's Editorial Board of Media Group Bulgaria Holding. She took over the post from Vesselin Blagoev, chief executive of the Bulgarian Marketing Association.

"The global program Superbrands presents the opinion of experts and consumers on branding. The organization is more and more convincingly establishing its reputation as an independent arbiter in branding that recognizes and promotes the most successful business practices on the national market. Its success in Bulgaria is yet another proof that businesses here are developing at a good pace," said Gocheva at a business breakfast on Thursday.

The selection and assessment of brands are universal around the world and consist of two stages - secret vote of the Superbrands board and a representative nationwide online vote, which will be conducted this year by GFK Bulgaria.

The Superbrands board will judge the brands based on the perceived quality of services, reliability and its distinction from competitors.

A luxurious edition, tracing the history, success and latest achievements of the strongest consumer brands in Bulgaria, will be published in the autumn of 2012. The selected companies will be entitled to use the special Superbrands symbol in their marketing communication.

The culmination of Superbrands Bulgaria will be a glitzy awarding ceremony, when representatives of the selected companies will be recognized for making it up to the highest level of Superbrands.